LISTEN TO TONY NORMAN:
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Tony Norman
Tony Norman is a community activist and a member of the McMillan Park Committee. For years Norman has worked with the community to protect the historic 25-acre McMillan Park. “The residents simply don’t want a small city on this site,” said Norman. According to Norman, Ward 5 D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas is ignoring the needs of his constituents and moving forward with a large scale development on McMillan Park. Norman questioned Thomas’ relationship with EYA, the developer of McMillan Park, which gave $55,000 to Thomas’ Ward 5 Business Council.
- McMillan Park
In a May 2009 article entitled “Councilmember Thomas Gave Support to Controversial Development: Developer Promised $55,000 to Thomas’ Organization,” the Brookland Heartbeat carefully examined this issue:
In 2008, Ward 5 Councilmember Harry Thomas, Jr. threw his support behind a proposal from developer EYA to build 237 townhouses on the grounds of St. Paul’s College in Ward 5.
The project was controversial: Advisory Neighborhood Commission (ANC) 5C opposed it, and the DC Zoning Commission – the entity responsible for approving the development – gave it a lukewarm reception. Several DC Zoning Commissioners questioned the project, describing its architecture and building materials as uninspiring and of indifferent quality.
The Zoning Commissioners ultimately overcame their reservations and voted 3-1-1 to approve the development in November of last year.
Whether the outcome would have been different without Councilmember Thomas’ staunch support for the project is unknown.
Mr. Thomas wrote a letter to the Zoning Commission on June 27, 2008 praising EYA’s proposal and expressing his unqualified support. Mr. Thomas’ Senior Policy Analyst, Vicky Leonard, read testimony on the councilmember’s behalf in front of the Zoning Commission, calling the project “exceptional.”
This testimony was cited in the Zoning Commission Order approving the development.
Mr. Thomas did not disclose to the Zoning Commission that the day before he wrote his letter of support, EYA revised its proposal to include a $40,000 payment to an organization newly formed by the councilmember.
The organization, called the Ward 5 Business Council, had been created by Mr. Thomas six weeks before, in May 2008. Mr. Thomas appointed the organization’s three board members: staff member Vicky Leonard, and Ward 5 residents Andre Tyler and James Grayton. Mr. Tyler was named president and Ms. Leonard was named treasurer.
Thousands of pages of official documents, transcripts, and emails were reviewed by Brookland Heartbeat for this article, some of them obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request. Numerous people involved were interviewed.
Acting in her official capacity as a member of Mr. Thomas’ staff, Ms. Leonard negotiated with EYA Vice President Jack Lester to secure $40,000 for the Ward 5 Business Council as part of the “community amenities package” for the EYA/St. Paul’s development. The amount was ultimately increased to $55,000.
A “community amenities package” is a set of donations and improvements made by a developer to offset the impact of its development on the local community.
EYA Vice President Jack Lester was emphatic that EYA’s $55,000 donation to the Ward 5 Business Council was unconnected to Mr. Thomas’ letter of support for the project.
Councilmember Thomas’ support “had nothing to do with the amenities package,” stated Mr. Lester, who said that Mr. Thomas supported the project even before the details of the amenities package were worked out.
According to official documents, neither Mr. Thomas nor Ms. Leonard disclosed the nature of their relationship with the Ward 5 Business Council to the Zoning Commission or to the parties involved. Mr. Thomas would not comment for this article except to say that he believed disclosure had been made. Ms. Leonard made no comment.
While Leonard and Thomas had no comment for the Brookland Heartbeat, Thomas has had plenty to say about the small community newspaper. The Washington Post reported:
Thomas accused the newsletter of “an unbalanced and biased reporting style.” In an “open letter,” he threatened the real estate company that is the publication’s leading advertiser, saying, “Long and Foster will be held accountable for its role in underwriting the Brookland Heartbeat, as well as the businesses that support the publication.”
When asked about the episode, Thomas said his comments were not meant to “take away free journalism but to have responsible journalism.”
(While Thomas’ comments about the Brookland Hearbeat were regarding another issue, it should be noted that at the time he made his remarks the community newspaper’s investigation into EYA’s questionable donations to Thomas’ Ward 5 Business Council was under way. Thomas was surely aware of the investigation since the Brookland Heartbeat was asking for numerous documents and speaking with people involved in the questionable donation.)
The contributions from EYA to Thomas’ Ward 5 Business Council are troubling. Even more disturbing is Thomas’ attack on a small community newspaper in his ward because he did not feel it was practicing “responsible journalism.”
Tony Norman feels that if dissent is muzzled over the future of McMillan Park, the District may lose an historic opportunity. Norman said, “[T]his is a chance for the city and the nation to do something great on the McMillan project. It’s something for the residents to be proud of and the city and the councilmembers shouldn’t treat this like this is just a parking lot. This is a chance for them to do something magnificent for the city and have a legacy… This is a historic site with vistas that are historic and the city should be mindful of that. And I just think if they treat it as a national treasure everybody will benefit from it.”